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Batman
"I am vengeance, I am the night, I. AM. BATMAN! And nothing matters -- except the mission! Because my life turned upside down after that night in the alley by a coward with a gun because it’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me. I’m whatever Gotham needs me to be." ''-- Batman'' Batman '''is the vigilante protector of Gotham City who rose up to combat super criminals, crime, corruption, gangsters, insane criminals, and eventually even alternate universe despots, metahuman threats, and intergalactic tyrants and is known to be cruel and brutal in his methods, a man dressed like a bat who fights against evil and strikes terror into the hearts of criminals everywhere. In his secret identity, he assumes the alias of Bruce Wayne,' billionaire industrialist, notorious playboy and the CEO of Wayne Enterprises; though "Bruce Wayne" is technically his real name, 'this' Bruce Wayne is a disguise--that of the man he would have been had his parents not been murdered before his eyes when he was no more than a mere boy. Although Batman possesses no super-human powers, he is one of the world's smartest men and greatest fighters. His physical prowess and technical ingenuity make him an incredibly dangerous opponent. He is also a founding member of the Justice League and the Outsiders. Dick Grayson',' the first "crime orphan" to assume the identity of Robin and be nicknamed "The Boy Wonder," who currently uses the alias of Nightwing, is Wayne's hand-picked successor, and they operate simultaneously as part of Batman Incorporated. He is the titular ultimate protagonist of the ''Batman comics, cartoons, movies and video games franchises, as well as one of the ultimate main protagonists of the entire DC multiverse. He is widely considered one of the greatest superheroes of all time. Over the years, Bruce encountered numerous foes, most notably the Joker. Batman was created by Bill Finger with Bob Kane, first appearing in Detective Comics ''#27 in 1939.[[]] Biography Early Life Bruce Wayne was born in 19th February 1975 to the wealthy doctor Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, who were themselves members of the prestigious Wayne and Kane families of Gotham City, respectively. When he was three, Bruce's mother Martha was expecting a second child to be named Thomas Wayne, Jr. However, because of her intent to found a school for the underprivileged in Gotham, she was targeted by the manipulative Court of Owls, who arranged for her to get into a car accident. She and Bruce survived, but the accident forced Martha into premature labour, and the baby was lost. While on vacation to forget about these events, the Wayne Family butler, Jarvis Pennyworth dies in his sleep because of his heart problems. A letter he'd written to his son Alfred, telling him to serve the family for his father. As such, Alfred - who had been an actor at the Globe Theatre at the time and a military medic before that, travelled to Gotham City to take up his father's place, serving the Waynes as butler. Young Bruce would often watch the television adventures of the Gray Ghost with his father and took many ideas from this show later. On his seventh birthday, about fifty kids came over to celebrate, but Bruce was off outside on his own, obsessed with the bright red wagon that his father gave him as a present. He spent the whole day in the garden collecting rocks with his wagon, and when he was asked by Alfred what he was going to do with them Bruce told him "I'm gonna build a home for my wagon, a secret place, that only I know about". Although the only child in the house, his loneliness eventually changed during his fourth birthday, when his parents brought in other children for him to befriend, but most spent his party running around and yelling. This left Bruce in a best friendship with the only well-behaved child among them, Rachel Dawes, who was the daughter of the mansion's housekeeper and lived in housing unit nearby. Despite having play dates with the other kid over the next three years, he secretly wished to stay away from some except Rachel, who was the friend he saw the most. One day at age 8, while playing with her in the garden greenhouse, Bruce fell down a dry well and into a cave, where he was attacked by a swarm of bats. His father rescued him, though Bruce developed a crippling fear of bats; the senior Wayne comforted his son by telling him that though people fall, they always have the strength to get up. Later, Bruce accompanied his parents into the city to see a new monorail system they built that just opened up for the public. Throughout the ride, his parents explained that Gotham was suffering from an economic downturn and enduring deeper into very hard times. To help its citizens, his father nearly bankrupted his company, Wayne Enterprises, to build the monorails to unite the city, with Wayne Tower as the system central core, but it didn't seem enough. While watching a performance of ''Mefistofele ''at the Gotham Opera House nearby with both his parents, Bruce got frightened by a scene featuring a bat-like monster (which reminded him of the bats that attacked him in the well) and asked to leave. Despite their wealth, Bruce's parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, loved him more than any. Growing up, he quickly found friends in the First Families of Gotham, primarily in Thomas Elliot. The case of Barton Mathis deeply affected Bruce as a child, being one of his first tastes of the evil in the world. Thomas's parents are involved in a car crash and Bruce's father goes to save them, Bruce promises that his father is the best and can save his best friend's parents. Until Thomas Wayne returns home and tells Elliot that his mother survived and his father died, Elliot is furious with Bruce that he punches him and leaves Wayne Manor shouting at Bruce that he never wants to see him again. As he grew older, his family's reputation made Bruce restless, and he began sneaking out of school to visit Gotham City, where he wouldn't be so easily recognized. On one such outing, when he was nine years old, he was picked up by Officer James Gordon and his partner on their patrol. En route back to the station, Bruce witnessed Jim accepting a trenchcoat as a bribe from a tailor - though neither realized it was a bribe at the time - but Bruce would remember it as an indicator of Jim's character. Death of Thomas and Martha Wayne After his parents came to retrieve him, the Waynes went to see The Mark of Zorro at the Monarch Theater. After the film, a mugger named Joe Chill attempted to rob them at gunpoint, and panicked, shooting both Thomas and Martha dead. Fortunately, physician and social worker Leslie Thompkins was making a house call that night, and arrived to give loving comfort to the traumatized Bruce. The second person to talk to him after the tragedy was Jim. He offered the boy what little comfort he could. Jim promised to find the killer. He was then raised on the Wayne Manor estate, with help from the wise and loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth. Following his parents deaths, Bruce attempted to commit suicide with a razor blade. However, just before he went through with it, he realized that this wasn't what his parents would want, and it was at that moment Bruce vowed to spend the rest of his life warring on crime. Aftermath After their deaths, Bruce became obsessed with the search for meaning in their loss. He thought perhaps the mythical Court of Owls was responsible, but he never found anything to prove it. Bruce later became friends with Theo Galavan. Bruce was also friends with Harvey Dent' and Silver St. Cloud 'who Bruce loved for the rest of his life. In his youth, Bruce attended Gotham Academy. It was there that he dated Julie Madison, but his psychological issues with his parents death ultimately led to the end of their relationship. One day, he was asked by a professor to answer a problem involving a projectile being fired at a target. This triggered Bruce to answer the question by burning the answer in fire on the professors front yard. Bruce was later expelled from Gotham Academy and began attending Roxbury Fielding Academy. Troubled by grief, Bruce found that he couldn't function the way he was, so he hired a homeless to pretend to be Alfred to approve of the paper work so that Bruce could erase his memory with electroshock therapy, but chose not to go through with it, and to use his pain as a motivator. At the age of 18, he used his relationship with Erin McKillen - a daughter of the Irish mob, and with whom he attended Roxbury Academy - to locate Joe Chill, and learned that he had simply needed the money, and there was no deeper meaning to his parents' deaths. Training and Travels Bruce Wayne swore an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. Bruce began training in martial arts and sword-fighting. He spent his youth traveling the world, training himself to intellectual and physical perfection and learning a variety of crime-fighting skills, including chemistry, criminology, forensics, martial arts, gymnastics, disguise, and escape artistry. At age 14, Bruce Wayne began his global sojourn, attending courses at Cambridge, the Sorbonne, and other European universities. However, he never stayed long and would often drop out after one semester. Beyond academia, Wayne successfully acquired various "practical" skills. Bruce studied at several prestigious colleges, including Cambridge University, the Sorbonne in Paris, and Berlin School of Science, only taking subjects that suited him and his plan. While abroad, he studied and received training in multiple martial arts under various instructors and in different countries, man-hunting under Frenchman Henri Ducard, stealth and reconnaissance under Lady Shiva and the Japanese ninja Kirigi and other certified shinobi, hunting under the African Bushman (the Ghost Tribes of the Ten-Eyed Brotherhood, among others), hand-to hand combat under the tutelage of Ted Grant, a World Champion Boxer and David Cain, one of the world's premier assassins; traditional healing disciplines under Nepalese monks and even ventriloquism under skilled practitioners. Bruce also trained with Chu Chin Li and Tsunemoto in martial arts. He was trained in kung fu by Richard Dragon. Bruce was also trained in archery by Oliver Queen. At the age of 17, Bruce was trained by detective Harvey Harris to improve his detective skills. At age 20, he attempted to join the FBI, but after learning about its regulations and conduct, Wayne deducted that he would never be able to completely oppose crime while working within the legal system. At age 21, Bruce studied the ins and outs of technological gadgetry under the guidance of the brilliant inventor, Sergei Alexandrov. Bruce also learned escape artistry from Zatara. During his three-month training stint with Zatara, Bruce and his mentor's daughter Zatanna became very close. Near the end of his travels, Bruce went to the Himalayas to train with Shihan Matsuda, who taught him to fight with the katana. The final mentor Bruce trained with was bounty hunter Willis Doggett, when Bruce and Willie were tracking a target, Willie was killed and Bruce managed to fight off the target by throwing him over a cliff, along with his parka. Luckily Bruce was rescued by a shaman and survived. After this, Bruce returned to Gotham after twelve years of training at the age of 25. Batman Begins Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham City after many years of study and training with his body and mind developed to perfection. With only his mission in mind and no care for his legacy as a Wayne, Bruce moved himself out of Wayne Manor and into a brownstone on Park Row from which he based his early attempts to infiltrate the Red Hood Gang after only six weeks back. Despite trying to remain off the grid, Bruce's uncle Philip Kane had kept tabs on him and had also gained control of Wayne Enterprises in Bruce's absence, hiring strategist Edward Nygma, who advised him to have Bruce killed if he wouldn't play ball. Philip outed Bruce's return to the media. When Bruce refused to return to the company while his uncle was selling weapons, Nygma advised Philip to have Bruce killed, and the Red Hood Gang soon attempted just that by blowing up Bruce's brownstone with him inside. Injured, Bruce crawled back to Wayne Manor, in his father's study, he recalled his fear of bats as a child after a large one crashed through one of the windows; he ultimately decided to make his appearance resemble a bat's. Wayne designed himself a costume equipped with experimental technology and set out against the crime and corruption that thrived in Gotham City. Wayne's tactics to oppose crime as a vigilante at night proved successful leading him to become an urban legend in Gotham City. He revealed himself at a dinner of the most influential and corrupt figures in Gotham City and promised them all that their reigns on the city would eventually end. Wayne's first ally was assistant district attorney Harvey Dent, Bruce's old friend from childhood. Using the fact that he was outed to his advantage, Bruce called a press conference outside the A.C.E. Chemical plant to expose the Red Hood Gang's plans to the media. The gang attempted to disrupt it, and inside the plant, Bruce used a blackout to debut the Batsuit. Through blackmail, Philip was recruited into the Red Hood Gang, and when he failed to kill the Batman, he was shot dead. In fighting with Red Hood One, Batman knocked the man into a vat of chemicals, and he was thought dead. Despite having won that battle, Nygma returned to detonate an EMP blast that left the entire city in the dark. Commissioner Loeb declared the Batman a vigilante criminal. The Zero Year Bruce began investigating a series of murders committed by a disgruntled Waynetech employee, while building a jammer to prevent another EMP attack when power was restored.The ex-employee, Dr. Karl Helfern was challenging enough that Batman allied himself begrudgingly with James Gordon, and together they learned that Helfern was the Riddler's pawn. Their plan to defeat both men failed, and the jammer was destroyed such that when the power was restored, the Riddler stole complete control of the power grid, shutting it down and flooding the city. In the following months, the city fell into ruin, with the Riddler nightly challenging the citizens to best him with a riddle in order to earn back civilization. Allying with Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox, Batman planned to locate the Riddler by piggybacking his signal during the Challenge. The plan failed, but Batman managed to find the Riddler in the place they'd first met, and best him in a battle of wits, both restoring power and saving the city from an inevitable air-strike. Afterwards, Bruce and Lucius began rebuilding Wayne Enterprises, and Jim Gordon was promoted to Commissioner in Loeb's stead. The Rogues Gallery Batman's presence in Gotham City generated a new breed of criminals, no longer the simple thugs and gangsters involved in Gotham Organized Crime, but more dynamic personalities. The first person inspired by him was Catwoman, a dangerous seductress using his style and methods towards her own ends. His next challenge was Dr. Hugo Strange, a mad scientist who had created Monster Men to do his bidding. There would be many more villains starting to appear within this time. The Scarecrow was an outcast who developed techniques to strike terror into the hearts of his victims for his own pleasure. Poison Ivy attempted to destroy the city when an advanced connection to plant-life led her to wage a personal war against humanity. The psychotic Mister Freeze used dangerous experimental technology to take revenge against society when his wife died. Another crime boss appeared named the Penguin who acted as an eccentric criminal mastermind without any crippling mental illness other than a desire to prove himself. Many of these villains were kept in Arkham Asylum for the criminally insane. The War of Jokes and Riddles Not long after Zero Year, Batman had his first confrontation with the resurfaced Red Hood One, now going by the name "the Joker". The clown had attempted to poison the Gotham Reservoir, only to be stopped by the Bat. Having created a prototypical version of it during Zero Year, Jim Gordon took the risk of placing a Bat-Signal on the roof of the GCPD precinct. Approximately a year after Zero Year, the Riddler broke out of prison and spurred a war between himself and the Joker, who had lost the ability to laugh, in what would be called "the War of Jokes and Riddles". With each side recruiting all the villains they could to fight for them, the city was turned into a war zone for weeks, forcing Batman to choose a side to work with in order for the casualties to stop. Batman begrudgingly chose the Riddler and meticulously took out all of Joker's forces until only the clown was left. When Batman predictably betrayed the Riddler, Nygma surrendered and revealed that he orchestrated the entire war in an attempt to solve the riddle of how to make the Joker laugh again. Furious Riddler caused the deaths of so many innocent people for something so trivial, Batman lost control and attempted to stab Nygma in the face with a kitchen knife, only to be stopped by the Joker himself - this event becoming one of Batman's greatest failures. The Long Halloween Batman and his trusted allies James Gordon and Harvey Dent met up on the rooftop of police headquarters one night, and they swore that they would bring down the organized crime syndicates led by Carmine "The Roman" Falcone and Salvatore "Sal" Maroni that were completely controlling their town. Although it was necessary to bend the rules in their efforts, they agreed that they would never break them, and become as bad as the evil they fought against. Meanwhile a serial killer named Holiday began stalking prominent Mafiosos and shooting them dead. There was suspicion immediately cast on the three men in the triumvirate, and the possibility that it might be someone trying to remove their competition. Gotham's new breed of criminals was replacing the traditional gangsters, and the underground was slowly being taken over by ''costumed freaks with no respect for the old ways. Batman's presence was arguably the cause of this. Amongst the killings Falcone's son Alberto was murdered. Bruce Wayne went on his first date with Selina Kyle around this time, who flirted with him as Catwoman by night unaware of his alter-ego. In his desperation, the Roman changed the game by employing super-villains in his activities. Falcone and Maroni each believed the other was responsible for Holiday, and their gang wars tore Gotham apart. Harvey Dent became a leading suspect because of his vindictive attitude towards criminals. Bruce Wayne was also suspected of involvement with the Roman's organization and arrested. His father Thomas Wayne had reluctantly performed emergency surgery on a young Carmine Falcone for bullet wounds and indebted him, making him indirectly responsible for the Roman's empire. Bruce's trial proved his innocence thanks to the testimony of Alfred Pennyworth. Dent later admitted this was a mistake, and Maroni brought himself into custody with the intention of spilling his secrets before he was killed. At the trial, Maroni smuggled in a bottle of acid and threw it at Dent's face during the prosecution, leaving him horribly disfigured. This also drove him insane, and he killed a doctor escaping from the hospital. They arrived at the conclusion that Harvey Dent was Holiday, and Batman attempted to find him after he escaped. While Gordon was transporting the gangster to a different cell, Holiday appeared and shot Sal Maroni in the head, finally revealing his real identity... Alberto Falcone, having faked his own death. Batman was disguised as the guard accompanying them, and he beat Holiday down before taking him into custody. Harvey Dent reappeared calling himself Two-Face after the nature of his personal tragedy, taking a team of villains into the Roman's private office. As the two leaders battled, Batman arrived and put most of the criminals down, but he was unable to stop Two-Face from shooting Carmine Falcone twice in the head. The three men, Batman, Gordon and Dent, had a final meeting on the rooftop of police headquarters. Dent was accused of betraying the things he believed in, but he insisted that his methods were the only ones that actually got rid of the Roman and he did what he needed to. He was then arrested, and although Batman and Gordon had seen one of the best men they knew completely broken, they still maintained that Gotham City could be saved and ridden of evil. Neither of them was willing to give up. The Mask of the Phantasm Justice League While investigating the appearance of Parademons, Batman encountered Green Lantern for the first time, and the two teamed up. Believing them to be aliens, the pair sought Superman for answers, and he attacked them, thinking they were a threat, prompting Lantern to call on The Flash for help until Superman was convinced of their good intentions. Joined by Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter in fighting off the Parademons attack, the team soon learned that Darkseid of Apokolips was behind the invasion. It was Batman who convinced the heroes to work together as a team, and then secretly travelled to Apokolips in search of a kidnapped Superman, whom he then rescued from Darkseid's torturers. Upon their return to Earth, they forced Darkseid back to his homeworld, and received praise and recognition. Batman insisted that they remain a team in order to maintain public approval. Dick Grayson, the first Robin Bruce Wayne was on an excursion to the circus when he witnessed another tragedy that would shape his life. The parents of a young acrobat named Dick Grayson were murdered by the gangster Tony Zucco. He saw both great potential and something of himself in the boy that night. Although Bruce knew he could never replace Dick's father, he adopted Grayson as his legal ward to help him and provide guidance where he didn't have any when he was that age. He eventually revealed his secret identity as Batman. Dick wanted justice for his parents, and he agreed to a regiment of rigorous physical and mental training so that he could become Batman's partner. After several months Dick was finally ready to take to the streets as Robin, fighting crime alongside his mentor. They swore an oath late one night that they would fight together against crime and corruption, never swerving from the path of righteousness. Batman had realized for the first time that he did not have to be alone in his crusade. Before he could go into action regularly, Robin had to pass a final exam and he proved himself by taking down the gangster Joe Minette. Their first adventures as a dynamic duo were a remarkable change in tone, with Robin's lightheartedness alleviating the grim seriousness. Dick's first solo mission was stopping Mad Hatter in a sex trafficking ring while Bruce was indisposed. Everything changed when Robin was targeted by Two-Face. A double-gallows trap caused Robin to inadvertently cause the death of an innocent man, after which Two-Face beat him within an inch of his life using a baseball bat and made Batman watch. Batman refused to let Robin go out with him anymore after the boy recovered because he didn't want to put him in further danger. Dick had to prove again that he really wanted this life, demonstrating his competence and resolve. Robin began teaming up with other young heroes and sidekicks, starting with a fight against Mister Twister where he worked alongside Aqualad and Kid Flash. Speedy, Cyborg, Starfire and Wonder Girl joined them to fight an evil being named Antithesis who was mind controlling their mentors. This group decided to call themselves the Teen Titans and would go on to a long career with Robin as one of their core members. As the leader of the Titans, Dick decided to give up his identity as Robin. This happened after an incident where Bruce had fired Dick as his partner after Robin was shot off a rooftop by the Joker. While he was doing some soul-searching, he met and talked with Superman who inspired him with a story about a Kryptonian vigilante named Nightwing. He reinvented himself using this new name and designing a new Nightwing costume, intending to honor all of the people who had shaped him into the man he had become. Batgirl When Bruce was invited to the Million Dollar Masquerade Ball, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara crashed the party in a female version of Batman's costume to surprise her father, who was also attending the event. At the party, before she revealed herself to Gordon, Killer Moth and his henchmen crashed the party, gunning for Bruce Wayne. James Gordon was taken out quickly so Barbara decided to step in. Bruce Wayne was previously shoved out of the way by Barbara so that she could protect him and her unconscious adoptive father, thinking that Bruce was but a helpless bystander. She defeated Killer Moth, breaking a heel in the process. She was later named Batgirl by Killer Moth, which stuck, even though she stated that she would have preferred Batwoman. Directly after the confrontation with Killer Moth, Batgirl met Batman and Robin. Batgirl's first encounter with Batman and Robin proved to be unpleasant. While she was angry with Batman's automatic dismissal of her capabilities, she was repulsed by Robin having a romantic interest in her. Soon after that, Batgirl attempted to swing from rooftops, being saved by Robin, who told her that regular rope is not good for diving from forty feet in the air. Later, Robin sent Batgirl equipment, pretending that he believed in her and Batman didn't. In reality, Robin was sending them on the orders of Batman. She was later captured by Batman and Robin to be tested, an examination she failed in Batman's eyes, not being able to save the innocents in a holographic containment chamber. Batgirl later teamed up with Black Canary, her idol, and she finally gained some respect from Batman, while Robin still harbored a crush on her. She was introduced to James Gordon as Batgirl, one of Batman's protégés. Batgirl's career came to an end after a few years, when the Joker shot and crippled her in an attempt to drive Commissioner Gordon insane. Although Batman eventually rescued Gordon and stopped the Joker, Barbara could never walk again. However, she didn't let this adversity stop her and Barbara eventually resumed her career as a crime-fighter using the alias of Oracle, a computer expert and information broker who assisted heroes on their never ending crusade. Ra's al Ghul Struggling against the League of Shadows, Batman met the beautiful Talia al Ghul when he rescued her from Doctor Darrk. Ra's al Ghul determined his secret identity through logical deduction and confronted him after Talia had been kidnapped again alongside Robin. Realizing that Ra's was behind this as a personal test, Batman confronted him and fought his bodyguard Ubu. Ra's explained that he was making sure he had found a worthy successor in the detective, as Talia had fallen in love with him. Batman eventually came to the conclusion that Ra's is a dangerous criminal who must be stopped at all costs, and declared war on him. Outsiders Batman quit the League when they refused to help him rescue Lucius Fox from Baron Bedlam in Markovia for political reasons. Determining that he needed a new team more concerned with justice than the way they were viewed by the world, he created the Outsiders as a black ops super-team to go where the League couldn't. This team involved Black Lightning, Geo-Force, Halo, Katana and Metamorpho. Justice League International Legends saw a new group of heroes form to fight against G. Gordon Godfrey after Justice League Detroit was disbanded, and they decided to form a new League together. Batman gathered Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Shazam, Doctor Fate, Doctor Light, Guy Gardner, Martian Manhunter and Mister Miracle in the Secret Sanctuary to take leadership of them as a team. Maxwell Lord convinced the United Nations to grant them an international charter and they become Justice League International. Justice Batman keeps a file on all other members of the League and their enemies. Nygma managed to steal his personal files and hand them over to the Legion of Doom, who used that information to attack all members of the League simultaneously. Batman and Alfred were infected unknowingly with Brainiac's miscroscopic mind-controlling worms, and the League attempted to mind-control him to murder Superman and Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman tied him up with his Lasso, which allowed Batman to fight the mind-controlling nanotech off until Green Lantern purged the mindworms from his body. Wonder Woman flew him to the Fortress of Solitude where they were reunited with the remainder League members. Flash captured Captain Cold and Batman interrogated him to learn the plans of the Legion. Then he came up with a plan to rescue the relatives and friends of the League that had been captured or brainwashed by the Legion. After the League successfully captured the Legion of Doom's headquarters, Batman coerced Lex Luthor into helping stop all nuclear missiles launched by Brainiac. Jason Todd, Robin II When Dick Grayson reached maturity, Bruce forced him to retire from the Robin persona. Shortly after this decision, Batman came across a young boy called Jason Todd, who had turned to crime out of necessity. Batman tried to help him by placing him at Ma Gunn's school, which was in fact a criminal hideout. Investigating Jason's background, Batman learned that the boy was an orphan. When Batman checked upon Jason, he realized the truth about the school and stopped the criminals with help from Jason, after which Batman took him under his wing and allowed him to become his new Robin. With Jason as the new Robin, the new Dynamic Duo stopped various criminals like Two-Face, Magpie, the Penguin, Mime, the Crime Doctor and Deacon Blackfire. Batman also worked together with Talia to stop the Penguin from spreading a lethal drug. Around this time, Batman also confronted numerous threats on his own and faced new criminals like The Ventriloquist, The KGBeast, The Ratcatcher, The Corrosive Man and Kadaver, Cornelius Stirk and the Dumpster Slasher. A Death in the Family Over time, Batman realized Jason was behaving more aggressive towards criminals and this violence wound up being the cause of the death of a criminal. When Jason became an inconvenience while fighting crime, Batman restricted him from going out as Robin. In the meantime, Joker had escaped from Arkham and Batman followed the trail of the madman to the Middle East, where he also found Jason. Batman learned that Jason was looking for his mother and when their missions crossed, they worked together to foil Joker's plans. Although they couldn't capture the Joker, Jason was reunited with his mother, Catherine Todd. Unfortunately, she was being blackmailed by the Joker and the Dynamic Duo had to separate to deal with a double threat by the madman. While Batman went on to stop a deadly cargo of Joker Venom, Robin tried to save his mother, but he was captured and beaten by the Joker. By the time Batman arrived at the crime scene, the warehouse where Jason and his mother were locked exploded and Batman couldn't save either of them. After dealing with the funeral arrangements for them, Bruce returned to Gotham, where he tracked down the Joker to the United Nations Building and learned the madman had become an Ambassador, which granted him diplomatic immunity. Batman was soon confronted by Superman, who was asked to prevent Batman from starting an international incident by attacking the Joker. Despite this, Batman continued his investigation and he confirmed Joker's involvement in Jason's death. Finally, when the Joker attempted to murder the people at the UN Building, he was stopped by Batman and Superman, but on his escape attempt, he fell to his apparent demise, but his body was not found. Loner Vigilante and Tim Drake, Robin III After the death of Jason, Batman mourned his loss and became a loner for quite a while; stopping threats like the alien invasion, Mister Freeze, the League of Shadows, the Bonecrusher, Two-Face, and solving other minor cases. Batman also faced other strange incidents like the mysterious “Batman Killings”, the mystery of Tulpa, an ancient, dark and mystic ritual with help from the Demon, Etrigan, the threat of the Mud Pack, which resulted in the creation of the Ultimate Clayface, and finally he stopped the misguided vigilante Anarky. During one of his last acts as a loner, Batman was forced to take back Arkham Asylum from the many maniacs who had taken over the institution. Following the death of Jason Todd, Batman became much more violent and aggressive while coping with the tragedy without someone to balance him out. A young man named Tim Drake figured out his secret identity using detective work, and determined that he needed a Robin to keep his darkness in check, just as Two-Face reappeared with new plans to kill the Dark Knight. Drake begged Dick Grayson to go back to his identity as Robin again when he was needed most. After explaining that he had deduced their identities by following Grayson's acrobatic career to Dick and Alfred Pennyworth, Tim was taken into the Batcave where it was suggested that he become the new Robin. Batman and Nightwing tracked down Two-Face, and he caught them in his underground death-trap. Tim took the Robin costume to rescue them and succeeded, although Batman argueed that he no longer needed a side-kick. Begrudgingly, as he proved himself and helped them defeat Two-Face, Bruce agreed to start training Tim Drake and take him on as his new crime-fighting partner. Prelude to Knightfall Batman (at the onset of a personal psychological mid-life crisis) was forced to deal, in rapid succession, with the returning villain Black Mask and his gang (who targeted Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox), a crazed killer called Metalhead, and a sharpshooter assassin hired by Vincent Morelli to murder Commissioner Gordon. Batman began to feel he had lost his edge, especially after his failure to capture Black Mask. He found himself unable to meditate or even focus. As Bruce Wayne, he contacted holistic therapist Shondra Kinsolving for treatment. He also assigned Tim Drake to train Jean-Paul Valley in detective work to aid them as an ally, hoping he could prevent him from becoming a villainous threat. Despite the advice of everyone in his life, including Dr. Kinsolving, Bruce refused to rest, and continued to pursue his self-imposed duty despite his worsening condition. Bruce's condition was worsened by The General usurping power in Gotham's underworld and assaulting a police station, Cypher attacking companies' CEOs and The Riddler creating chaos in Gotham. Meanwhile, Robin found it difficult to work with Jean-Paul, due to the man's violent subconscious training and lack of social skills, and also found himself being shut out from working alongside Batman. Knightfall Bane, a brilliant tactical mastermind who had trained his body to physical perfection, came to Gotham City and dedicated himself to destroying Batman and taking over his territory. This villain was more driven and powerful than anyone he had ever faced before, and wanted to prove himself by defeating and breaking Batman. At their first meeting, Bane did not introduce himself but said that his name would eventually make him beg for mercy. Batman suggested that if he was threatening him, he should get in line behind everyone else. Broken Bat Bane began his assault by organizing a massive break-out at Arkham Asylum with the help of his henchmen Bird, Trogg and Zombie. Aware that he would lose in a direct assault against Batman, Bane's plan consisted of weakening Batman by forcing him to deal with the deadly villains simultaneously. Among the freed inmates, there were numerous high-profile villains, which Batman took down one by one. Batman faced against great criminals like Poison Ivy, the Joker and the Scarecrow, as well as many lesser known villains, such as the Mad Hatter, The Ventriloquist, Amygdala, Firefly, Cavalier, and Victor Zsasz. The scenario created a rift in the relationship between Robin and Batman, as Batman irrationally sought to face the outbreak alone -- Robin later asked Batman if he was even needed as his sidekick anymore. Batman became weaker and weaker as each criminal was put away. The rescue of Mayor Krol from the combination of the Joker and Scarecrow took Batman to his mental and physical limit: a dose of Scarecrow's fear gas made him relive the murder of Jason Todd, which he considered to be his greatest failure. After saving the Mayor, Batman was confronted by Trogg, Zombie and Bird and he took them out with the last amount of energy left in him. Bane finally confronted him by breaking into Wayne Manor when Batman was at his weakest, beating him nearly to death in his weakened state and breaking his spine. Bane took his body downtown to Gotham Square and threw it from a rooftop to demonstrate his superiority to the populace. With Batman incapacitated, Bane assumed control of Gotham City's underworld and took over several illegal operations within it. Who Rules the Night Knightquest KnightsEnd Zero Hour Prodigal Troika Contagion Legacy New World Order Cataclysm Mr. Wayne Goes to Washington No Man's Land Tower of Babel Bruce Wayne: Fugitive Hush War Games City of Crime Under the Red Hood Batwoman Infinite Crisis 52 Face the Face The Son of Batman Three Ghosts of Batman Club of Heroes Heart of Hush Batman R.I.P. Final Crisis Battle for the Cowl Blackest Night Return of Bruce Wayne Batman Incorporated Flashpoint Convergence Court of Owls Death of the Family Gothtopia Trinity War The Demon Star and Gotham's Most Wanted Requiem for a Dream Forever Evil The Big Burn Batman Eternal Robin Rises Endgame I Am Gotham, I Am Suicide, I Am Bane Gotham Knights The Button Invasion of the Dark Multiverse Rules of Engagement Injustice The Future Retirement Passing the Mantle of Batman Personality Who is "The Real Man" Secret Identity Appearances Relationships Family Allies Romances Powers and Abilities Abilities Weaknesses Paraphernalia Equipment Transportation Weapons Bases of Operations Notes Family Tree Recommended Reading Links Related Gallery Trivia